In July 1925, the Scopes “Monkey” Trial captivated the nation. On its face, the case was relatively straightforward: A Tennessee biology teacher named John Scopes was accused of teaching human evolution to his students. At the time, that was against state law. Both sides enlisted the help of big name lawyers to represent them, and the case turned into a national spectacle. But, why has the legacy of the case persisted? And what can it help us understand about our current moment?

Host Ira Flatow talks with Brenda Wineapple, author of Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial that Riveted a Nation. Read an excerpt of the book at sciencefriday.com.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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It’s shaping up to be one of the worst tick years yet, and concerns about Lyme disease—which is transmitted through the bites of some species—are high. Aside from a short-lived vaccine released in the late 1990s, people have not had the opportunity to get vaccinated against Lyme disease. But if our dogs can get vaccinated, why can’t we? Host Flora Lichtman speaks with immunologist and Lyme disease expert Linden Hu about the ongoing quest for a vaccine against Lyme disease, and our evolving understanding of the disease.  

Guest: Dr. Linden Hu is a Professor of immunology at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Read an article from SciFri about the research towards finding an anti-tick vaccine.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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About 7% of veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and that number can be closer to 30% for those who have served in a war zone.  

But PTSD has been treated pretty much the same way since the disorder was first recognized roughly four decades ago: Patients are instructed to revisit their trauma until the memory no longer creates an emotional response. This process can be so harrowing that over half of veterans are unable to complete the full course of treatment. But what if there was a way for PTSD treatment to be virtually painless?

Host Flora Lichtman talks with Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic, who explored a controversial treatment called Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories, and the challenges of even studying a treatment that bucks conventional wisdom.  

Guest: Yasmin Tayag is a staff reporter for The Atlantic.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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For decades, astronomers have been trying to nail down the value of the Hubble constant—a measure of how fast the universe is expanding. But some cosmologists say there’s evidence that the universe is expanding faster than physics can explain, and our current models of it might be broken. Hosts Flora Lichtman and Ira Flatow talk with Wendy Freedman and Dan Scolnic, two cosmologists with different takes on this constant controversy.

Guests: 
Wendy Freedman, a former team leader of the Hubble Key Project, is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.
Dr. Dan Scolnic is a cosmologist and associate professor of physics at Duke University in North Carolina.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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For decades, residents of the small city of Newburgh, New York, were unknowingly drinking water contaminated with toxic PFAS—also known as forever chemicals. The source turned out to be firefighting foam used on a nearby air base that had seeped into streams and creeks, and ultimately the city’s main drinking water reservoir.

Now, Newburgh is one of 10 sites that are part of a CDC-led study investigating the health effects of PFAS exposure. Early data out of Newburgh links PFAS with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Host Flora Lichtman discusses the research with environmental epidemiologist Erin Bell and reporter Shantal Riley.

Read our full story about what PFAS contamination has meant for Newburgh in English and in Spanish.

Guests: 
Shantal Riley is an award-winning journalist and science writer, focused on environmental health.
Dr. Erin Bell is an environmental epidemiologist at the University at Albany in New York.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Oceanographer Victoria Orphan’s dream was coming true. She was sitting in the Alvin submersible, on one of its deepest science dives ever. But the trip was anything but smooth sailing. Victoria takes us inside the sub, where her dream turns nightmarish as things start to go wrong, and Alvin pilot Nick O’Sadcia works frantically to troubleshoot. Oceanographer Shana Goffredi, who’s also Victoria’s wife, tells us about the tense scene unfolding on the ship miles above, as they wait for word from the sub. 

“The Leap” is a 10-episode audio series that profiles scientists willing to take big risks to push the boundaries of discovery. It has premiered on Science Friday’s podcast feed every Monday since May 12. This is the final episode of the 2025 season.

“The Leap” is a production of the Hypothesis Fund, brought to you in partnership with Science Friday.

Transcript is available on sciencefriday.com.

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Researchers found a new sea spider with a giant nose, leg cannons, and—most remarkably—a novel way of surviving in the lightless, freezing environment miles below the sea surface. These oceanic arthropods are powered by methane that seeps out of the ocean floor.

Biologist Shana Goffredi joins Host Flora Lichtman to tell us more about the discovery and explain how we’re connected to these little beasts.

Guest: Dr. Shana Goffredi is a biology professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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President Trump has said that he wants to phase out FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and move responsibility for dealing with major disasters to the state level. Since its creation in 1979, the agency has played a key role in coordinating emergency response nationally. Host Ira Flatow talks with Samantha Montano, an emergency management specialist and author of Disasterology: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Climate Crisis, about the path forward for FEMA and how US emergency response efforts might change in the coming years. 

Plus, how much can extreme flooding events be attributed to climate change? Host Flora Lichtman breaks down the science with Andrew Dessler, Director of the Texas Center for Extreme Weather.

Guests:
Dr. Samantha Montano is an associate professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.     
Dr. Andrew Dessler is the Director of the Texas Center for Extreme Weather.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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Most pasta is made from just two ingredients—flour and water. For decades this humble food has prompted physicists around the world to try to understand its mysterious properties and answer questions like: Why does a stick of spaghetti break into three pieces and not cleanly into two? And why is cacio e pepe so hard to perfect? The answers reveal more about the building blocks of the universe than you might expect. Host Ira Flatow talks with Joseph Howlett, math writer at Quanta Magazine, and author of a recent story for the BBC about spaghetti science.

And, if you frequent the wellness world on social media, you may have seen a trend popular with influencers: using adhesive tape to seal one’s mouth shut while sleeping. This is intended to help the sleeper breathe through their nose all night, which people claim has a slew of benefits including improved quality of sleep, reduced sleep apnea, a more defined jawline, and a brightened complexion. But should you add mouth taping to your nighttime routine? According to Dr. Linda Lee, physician and surgeon at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston, you should be evaluated by a professional first.

Dr. Lee joins Host Flora Lichtman to talk about the right way to start nose breathing, what the scientific literature says (and doesn’t say) about mouth taping, and how social media is changing the information patients seek from their physicians. 

Transcripts for each episode are available at sciencefriday.com.

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We live in a world filled with microbes—they’re inside our bodies, in soil, in deep sea hydrothermal vents, and in your window AC unit. Some microbiologists are hopeful that finding more of these tiny organisms could help us address the climate crisis. Joining Host Flora Lichtman to talk about how are microbiologists James Henriksen and Lisa Stein.

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

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